Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Through
better understanding, awareness, community education and support the bad or ugly
image of the Cape Griffon vulture has definitely improved. This amazing bird
being the largest of the diurnal birds of prey in the southern regions of
Africa is mainly confined to a small area of south and southwest Africa. It reaches
higher altitudes than any other vulture, as its huge wing span takes it to
elevations or levels of about 26,300 feet (8,000 metres) above sea level.

This bird
sadly is one of the most endangered being listed as “vulnerable” to extinction
by the World Conservation Union. This means that the Griffon Vulture is
threatened to total extermination and irrefutable disappearance from the world
as we know it. Over the past few decades the Cape Griffon vulture has suffered
a substantial and major population decline. The greater part of the Cape
Griffon vulture population 5,000 to 7,000 birds is mainly found in South
Africa.

Electrocution
caused by power lines, changes in the migration patterns of large game herds
and an increase in domesticated animals, where the domesticated animal is
either buried or incinerated when dead, thereby lessening and shrinking the
amount of food available to these birds, this in turn leads to dietary and
nutritional deficiencies. Today poisons play a detrimental role in the threat
of the Cape Griffon vulture’s extinction and endangerment, where in all
probability most of the poisonings are mass and caused accidentally or
inadvertently.

To destroy,
eliminate or kill most key or apex predators preying on livestock such as Lion,
leopard, cheetah, hyena and jackal, farmers poison the dead carcass of an
animal, thus baiting or goading the predator. The Cape Griffon vulture being a bird
of carrion, a scavenger, feeds on the dead animal that has been poisoned
causing its death, thus assisting in the demise or unintended extinction of the
Cape Griffon vulture.

The
unsophisticated, inexpensive, effectual accessibility of poison supplies is a
mammoth problem, as the farmer receives incorrect or unqualified information
from the supplier, causing erroneous application thereby exterminating
non-target species as well as prime predators.

The social
eating characteristics of the vulture is unique in as far as that, very seldom
will a single bird eat on a carcass. Instinctive and inherent protection knitted
with individual security will prevail against other scavenger carnivorous.
Intuitively the vulture will wait, until many other birds begin to eat. There
have been many sightings of hundreds of vultures eating on a single carcass.
This scenario plays out to the reality that if a carcass has been poisoned or
even tainted with pesticide toxins and as many birds eating on that particular
carcass at one time. This will ultimately dictate how many vultures will be
poisoned on mass. As many as eight hundred vultures can be poisoned at one
carcass sitting.

This exact
picture tells a horrifying story and sadly has been the prime decline of the
Asian vulture. Over ten million birds destroyed in ten years. This is a defined
and distinct animal genocides depiction.

The decline
or waning of the Cape Griffon vulture has dramatic inference on the ecosystem. The
Griffon vulture being a bigger bird consumes so much more than other vultures; being
immune to many carcass carrying diseases, a small cast or committee of Cape
Griffon vulture will devour the bacteria tainted carcass in less than one hour
thereby thwarting or preventing most of these diseases from spreading to our
ecological unit and environment.

A focus on
the reintroduction of the Cape Griffon vulture was initiated with the main
objective of reintroducing the Griffon vulture back to Namibia. If we look back
to the 1950’s about 2,000 individual Cape Griffon vultures existed in Namibia;
today due to a myriad of raison d'être less than 12 vultures exist.

Rare and
Endangered Species Trust (REST) of Otjiwarongo, Namibia together with the De Wildt Cheetah and
Wildlife Trust of North West Province, South Africa established a program with
its prime focus and motivation being the reintroduction of the Cape Griffon
vulture back into Namibia. This type of introduction is so unique and
distinctive, as it had never been undertaken in Southern Africa and could very
well pioneer future animal and bird reintroduction programs world wide,
incorporating the most endangered species.

The cause of
Cape Griffon decline has been increased and accessible exposure to poisons and
pesticides, collision, impact or electrocution with overhead powerlines. The accelerated
decrease of carnivores in vulture foraging terrain, due to land encroachment
and human intrusion, large herds of migrating antelopes being replaced by
domestic farm stock, improved domestic animal farming practices and management,
thus contributing to a vast decrease in available food source.

Calcium
deficiencies resulting in bone abnormalities, initiated by former predators breaking
their quarry’s bones into small fragments thereby allowing the vulture young to
feed on essential calcium minerals.

Lastly
change in tree habitat by bush encroachment, whereby small thorny trees now make
it difficult for the Cape Griffon vulture to spot or identify dead carcasses.
If they can recognize the carcass, a frenzy feed takes place; the Cape Griffon
vulture will then experience extreme body mass difficulties in taking off with
a full crop of food. You could equate this with a fully loaded Super Jumbo
Passenger jet, trying to take off from a small farm runway.

In 2004,
sixteen Cape Griffon vultures were checked-in and welcomed to the De Wildt Cheetah
sanctuary next to Brits, Northern Province, South Africa for rehabilitation.
After the birds were given a clean bill of health and declared completely fit
for release, they were air lifted to REST in Namibia. Three of the sixteen
Griffon vultures were captive bred and were integrated with the remaining wild
vultures. This was accomplished by all the birds, wild and captive bred, living
in the same feeding site thus forming inter-societal bonds by being taught to
socialise. The birds then had to endure or undergo an acclimation process or
path thus preparing them for behavioural socialization in the wild. Before
reintroduction into the wild, all the birds were held in a release aviary for
just over a year.

If we go
back to the 1950’s, of the approximately 2,000 individual Cape Griffon vultures
in Namibia a breeding committee of about 500 birds lived and nested on the
mountain kranses or cliffs of the Waterberg Plateau Park, Otjiwarongo, Nambia.

So it made
sense to have the feeding site for the inevitable liberation of the Cape
Griffon vultures facing the Waterberg cliffs in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, as this
being in all probability the only natural habitat or locale for the birds in
this area.

October 23,
2005 was the poignant day when 14 of De Wildt Cape Griffon vultures all being
ringed and two fitted with satellite telemetry were released back into the
Namibian wild. However within the first month of release two of the vultures
had died. One drowned in a water reservoir and the second bird that had a
healed broken wing was not strong enough for full flight. The birds with
satellite telemetry are now being tracked and seem to be durable and vigorous;
the birds with rings are spotted on an intermittent basis.

With the
help of donations from the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust and many other
donors, Four Cape Griffon vultures have been fitted with satellite technology
using 70g Argos style transmitters attached to their backs by using special
harnesses designed in Israel and then released back into the wild.

One of the
most salient points is that this project highlights remarkable pioneering
exploration and study in vulture research, being the world leaders in fitting
satellite telemetry onto Cape Griffon Vultures, the very first in developing
the vulture capture aviary and possibly the first in the world to catch and
color-ring about 800 free flying vultures in one operation. The purpose of the
ring is to record the frequency of the vultures arriving at feeding stations or
ringed birds being spotted by the public and Wilderness Safari guides.

As there are
only 11 original Namibian Cape Griffon vultures left in Namibia, making it
Namibia’s most endangered species, with out the successful reintroduction and
release of Cape Griffon vultures from South Africa. The demise or eradication
of the Cape Griffon vulture will be recorded as disappearance or extinction in
memory.

There have
not been many studies, reports or research on how vultures influence or shape
the ecosystem, so this project led by Maria Diekmann of REST, researches and
documents many facets and characteristics of the Cape Griffon vulture. The
information gathered and documented is fundamental, essential and crucial to
the survival of the bird, as well as advancing the preservation and protection
of all raptor species.

‘Beauty of the Wild’
by Alan Lipa is the ultimate coffee table read combining breathtaking wildlife
photography with fascinating story telling, where he depicts and illustrates
through his photography an ability to share unique and inimitable story
narratives of the animals he characterizes.

Alan Lipa through his wildlife photography and story narratives embraces the animal world showing us how this important part of our heritage has to be cherished, protected and saved for those who live in the future allowing them to be able to prosper, savour and hold close a legacy that when gone, will be gone for ever.